WHOA! Why Is Our Classless President Following Porn Sites On Twitter?

May 14, 2016

President Obama’s Twitter account, which is run by his “Organizing for Action” staff, follows 636,000 accounts. Many of them you might expect: Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, John Kerry. Even Mariah Carey and Snoop Dogg don’t really raise an eyebrow. But several accounts on the presidential follow list fit a different theme: Asa Akira, a porn star who has 653,000 followers and, in her Twitter bio, states “I have an award-winning asshole.” Joanna Angel (390,000 followers), who describes herself as a “multiple award winning punk porno princess;” Penthouse Pet Of The Year Nikki Benz (808,000 followers); and Ashley Steel (138,000 followers), who writes that she is a “Porn Star, Doggy mama, Happiness Junkie, XXX Model, Buddhist, & Total nerd.”

So why is the official Twitter account for the president of the United States publicly following adult movie stars? Of course, American porn stars are just as American (and just as worthy of the President’s ear) as anyone else, but this interaction is nonetheless an unusual move for an elected official’s campaign-managed social media account.

Neither the Organizing for Action campaign nor the White House immediately responded to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Joe Rospars, Obama’s principal digital strategist for both presidential campaigns, said that he was not available to comment.

The current presidential candidates seemed to have been more intentional about their follow lists, if for no other reason than that Twitter had blocked auto-following before the start of their 2016 campaigns. Nikki Benz, Penthouse’s 2011 “Pet Of The Year,” has followed Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump. None of them have followed back. Via: Fast Company